The Controller
by Simba72598
Summary: When a trip to the carnival with her classmates goes very wrong, and Chat Noir ends up sacrificing himself—again—Ladybug begins to reconsider accepting his invitation for a date night. Perhaps he's more than just a friend… [LadyNoir, Adrienette, and Djwifi]
1. Chapter 1

_**Happy Graduation to Shasta627! (& I hope the rest of you enjoy this fic too!)**_

* * *

Marinette was having a difficult time multitasking. Whenever she adjusted the phone at her ear, her nail polish got smudged and she had to correct it before it dried. Tikki was no help; the kwami was seated by the computer, snacking and watching the news—which Marinette was also trying to get caught up on. And then there was her math homework she was supposed to be doing… Marinette let out a small sigh. She loved being Ladybug, but it did leave her constantly behind in her schoolwork.

"And then it got even worse!" Alya exclaimed dramatically through the phone. "We were all sitting down to have dinner together—with my parents—and those little _Sapotis_ started asking Nino if he liked kissing me and whether or not he was going to marry me! It was soooo humiliating!"

Marinette just laughed as she finished painting her last fingernail. The news was showing a live broadcast of a concert airing by the Hotel de Invallides, and it seemed that everyone was having a good time. Maybe she could have an entire afternoon without someone getting akumatized.

"Oh, you laugh, Marinette, but my face was redder than Ladybug's outfit. My parents thought it was hilarious, and Nino played it off cool, but I kinda wanted to strangle my sisters for the rest of the evening!" Alya huffed, exasperated. "Imagine if you had insane twin siblings and they were saying stuff like that about you and Adrien!"

"What?" Marinette almost dropped her bottle of nail polish. "Don't be ridiculous. Adrien and I? Dating? I—" she glanced at the pictures she had of her blond classmate, which were scattered around the room like angelic wallpaper. "Please! Can you imagine me even having dinner with Adrien?!"

"This is true," teased Alya. "Conversation would go like: 'Yum, this good is so roast beef! I mean, this beef is so roast good! I mean—"

"Okay-okay," interrupted Marinette, laughing. "I'm still working on talking to him, but one day…"

"Sure," said Alya, with false-confidence. "Anyway, after dinner, Nino and I decided to watch a movie in the living room and the twins thought it would be fun to…"

"Marinette!" Tikki had stopped snacking and was pointing to the TV anxiously.

Marinette toned out Alya's story and focused on the scene in front of her. A concert-goer had evidently gotten into an argument with a bouncer. The bouncer had shoved the man back into the crowd, and suddenly the man had grown an extra ten feet. He stepped over the bouncer and raised his hands to the sky angrily, calling for Ladybug and Chat Noir to challenge him.

"Come on!" Marinette sighed, knowing her nails still weren't dry.

"That's what I thought too!" said Alya. "Sometimes the twins are cute, but other times they really need to grow up."

"Hey, um, Alya? Can I call you back?" said Marinette. "My parents are um…needing my help. Right now. Gotta go!" She quickly hung up and set the bottle of nail polish on top of her untouched math homework. Tikki was still watching the news anxiously.

"So much for a quiet afternoon," Marinette told the kwami, jumping to her feet.

"Tikki, spots on!"

Adrien had already transformed into Chat Noir and was busy fighting the giant concert-goer by the time Ladybug arrived on scene.

"Thanks for joining the party, mi' lady," he teased her as she swooped in and landed on top of the giant's shoulders.

"My pleasure, Chat. Though is it just me, or has Hawkmoth been extra busy these last few days?"

"You're right. He should take a vacation," replied Chat Noir, dodging a blow from the giant's fists. "But since I doubt that will happen, how about you and I have some down-time? Tomorrow night? The carnival?" He tried not to get his hopes up; Ladybug usually said no to date nights. But still, if she did say yes…

"Sorry, kitty." Ladybug leaped from the giant's shoulders, wrapping her yo-yo around him as she fell. He tried to take a step and got caught in the wire, toppling to the ground as well. "I'm already going to the carnival with my friends."

"Yeah, well, I am too," replied Chat Noir, thinking of his classmates' planned outing to the carnival after school. "But you could always stay a little longer."

"We'll see. I am pretty busy," Ladybug responded, calling for her lucky charm as the giant untangled himself and began chasing them down the street, toward the Rodin Museum.

 _At least she didn't say no!_ Chat Noir grinned to himself. After the whole Glaciator-fiasco, he had hopes that she wouldn't disappoint him again. Not purposefully.

But then he was reminded of another more important fact: Ladybug had said she was going to be at the carnival tomorrow—as a civilian! What if he walked right past her?

Chat Noir grinned to himself as he went back to fighting the giant. Tomorrow was going to be an exciting day.


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette stood with the rest of her class by the carnival gates. Beside her, Alya was doing a head count.

"Okay, we've got Nino, Adrien, Kim, Alix, Max, Rose, Juleka, Nathaniel, Ivan, Myléne, Marinette, me…um…I think we're just missing Sabrina and Chloé."

"Let's hope they missed the invite," whispered Marinette. Alya grinned but didn't say anything. A black limo was pulling up to the gates. Marinette had gotten her hopes up too fast.

"Yoo-hoo, I'm here! We can go now!" Chloé hopped out of the car, Sabrina following quickly. Neither girl looked overly enthused at the prospect of spending the afternoon with their classmates, but evidently, they didn't want to be left out either.

"Let's all meet by the hot-dog stand for dinner," suggested Marinette, hoping that everyone would agree to spilt up for a bit—there was only so much of Chloé she could handle in a single day.

"Sounds fun!" Rose squealed as clapped her hands together excitedly.

"You mean greasy hot-dogs for dinner?" Chloé sounded disgusted. "Think of what that will do to my skin!"

"Fine then, you don't have to eat with us. See you later!" Alya motioned toward Marinette, Nino, and Adrien. "Let's go guys!"

The rest of the class began breaking into groups as well. Marinette watched as Kim, Max, Alix, and Nathaniel raced toward the carnival games, while Ivan, Myléne, Rose, and Juleka headed toward the slower rides. Unfortunately, Chloé seemed to realize she and Sabrina were being left behind.

"Adrie-kins! Wait for me!" she called, racing after Alya, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette. As usual, Sabrina raced after Chloé wordlessly. Marinette groaned.

"I don't think we can avoid her," Adrien whispered with an apologetic shrug as the two girls got closer. Alya rolled her eyes and Nino just shrugged, resigned. Marinette adored Adrien, but right then, she was extremely annoyed. Why did he have to be nice to Chloé?

"Chloé doesn't like crazy rollercoasters," Adrien suddenly whispered to Marinette. Her annoyance faded instantly and she smiled like a lunatic as he leaned closer to add, "You can avoid her then."

Marinette felt her cheeks glowing as Adrien turned around to address Chloé. Alya elbowed Marinette. "I've got it all worked out. I'll sit next to Nino on the rides and you can sit with Adrien. We'll double-date-it."

Marinette's face grew even hotter.

"Well, we're not just going to stand around all afternoon, are we? I might get varicose veins!" said Chloé. She pointed to the Merry-go-round. "Follow me, everyone."

"Um, we were going to go on that one," Adrien quickly pointed to the wildest rollercoaster the carnival had to offer. "But you don't have to go on it. We'll meet you back here!"

Marinette watched as Chloé glanced between the ride and Adrien. The girl seemed seriously distressed.

"Fine," Chloé finally grumbled. "But you better meet me back here as soon as your ride is done!"

"Deal." Adrien winked at Marinette and she felt her heart seize up. She needed to take deep breaths…Calm down…Play it cool. She jogged after Alya and the two boys. They had already reached the line for the ride. A sign by the entrance warned of a twenty-minute wait. Marinette didn't mind at all. The longer the line, the longer she got to spend with Adrien—Chloé-free.

"I think we should do this more often," Nino was saying. "It's a good thing your old man let you come!" he clapped Adrien on the back and Marinette watched the model's perfect smile widen. She decided she could stare at him all day long and never grow bored.

"I'm glad too! I've never been to a carnival with my friends."

Alya elbowed Marinette again. "Let's try not to drool, okay?" she whispered jokingly. Marinette shot her a look as she straightened, but she didn't say anything. She was far too excited to be annoyed with her friend's teasing.

They talked about miscellaneous subjects: how Kim and Alix would probably use up all their money daring each other to win at the carnival games, how Max had probably smuggled his robot into the park, how Sabrina must be getting bored of the Merry-go-round. When they finally reached the front of the line, Marinette's side was already aching from laughing so much.

"Party of four," Alya told the ride attendant. He grinned excitedly, evidently in love with his job much more than the usual carnival worker.

"Two couples! You guys are going to have a fantastic time! Be sure to buckle up and screeeaaamm!"

Marinette giggled at his enthusiasm as Nino and Alya took a seat and Adrien slid in behind them. "Coming, Marinette?"

Her cheeks were growing warm again. "Of course!" She hopped into the rollercoaster seat beside him and the attendant checked their restraints.

"Enjoy the ride!" he yelled as the car began moving uphill.

Marinette focused on the metallic clicking of the wheels on the track. Her heart really needed to calm itself. Adrien was fine—he wasn't freaking out. The higher they rose, the more he seemed to be enjoying the ride. He peered over the edge of the seat and scanned the carnival grounds below them. It was almost as if he was searching for someone.

Click! The coaster reached the top of the hill and hesitated a second before the drop. Marinette's stomach flipped and she let out an ungraceful screech as the cart raced down the incline. A few seconds later they whirled around a sharp turn and she slid into Adrien's shoulder. Then came another turn and he slid into her. The rest of the ride was horribly fast and jerky, but Marinette didn't mind one bit. Half-way through the ride, Adrien had evidently gotten tired of the bruised-shoulder-jerks and wrapped an arm around Marinette to keep her from sliding.

She had never loved a rollercoaster so much.

Unfortunately, it finally came to an end and the four teens got off, laughing from the adrenaline.

"Thanks for riding!" The attendant high-fived each of them on their way out. Marinette's face hurt from smiling.

"We have got to do that again!" said Nino enthusiastically as they all trudged back toward the Merry-go-round.

"Yeah, that was pretty great," Marinette agreed.

"Maybe we can convince Chloé and Sabrina to do it," suggested Adrien. "Then we can just hop back in line and ride it all afternoon!"

"Good luck with that," said Alya as they caught sight of the other girls. Neither of them looked happy.

"What took you so long?!" Chloé wailed as soon as they were within earshot. "I thought you had abandoned us, Adrie-kins!"

Marinette thought she detected a flicker of annoyance in Adrien's expression, but he didn't show it; he launched into an explanation of how Chloé was missing the best part of the carnival.

He was quite persuasive, and within a few minutes—much to everyone's surprise—Chloé gave in.

"Fine. I might as well see what sort of lunatic rides you enjoy. Come on, Sabrina. Let's go with them."

"Way to go, dude!" Nino applauded Adrien. Marinette was a little less excited. Chloé was sure to pitch a fit the moment she realized Marinette would be sitting by Adrien.

They got back in line for the rollercoaster and Chloé whined about how fast it looked. "It better not mess up my hair! And if someone gets sick on this ride, they're going to pay!" She pointed her finger at everyone in the group while Marinette and Alya laughed. If anyone was going to get sick on the ride, it would probably be Chloé.

"Welcome back for round two!" called the attendant, recognizing the group as they reached the front of the line. "And you brought friends!" he turned to Chloé and Sabrina. "Are you ready for the best ride of your life?"

"No. This whole rollercoaster looks stupid. I don't know how anyone could get so excited about it."

The attendant looked upset, then quickly smiled. "Well, try to keep an open mind. You might like it!"

"Doubtful," said Chloé. She then evidently noticed Marinette had moved to stand beside Adrien.

"Don't even think about it, Baker-girl," she hissed, shoving Marinette to the side. "Adrien is mine."

"Whoa, now!" the attendant sounded concerned. "Let's partner up peacefully."

"You stay out of this," Chloé snapped. "Marinette, you sit with Sabrina."

"Excuse me?" Marinette felt her temper rising. "Why do you get to order me around?"

"I need to get the ride going! Just take a seat!" the attendant was beginning to look seriously agitated.

"Hey, it doesn't matter who you're sitting next to, Chloé," said Adrien. He remained by Marinette as Alya and Nino took seats. "Just sit down."

"Not unless I get to be next to you," spat Chloé. "You said it didn't matter."

"Um, I really need to start the ride. The line's getting longer," warned the attendant.

"Be quiet!" Chloé whirled on the poor man. "Can't you see I'm working out a situation? If you keep interrupting me, I'm going to get you fired!"

Marinette watched the attendant's eyes widen in horror and injustice. She was suddenly aware of an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Someone in the line spotted the purple butterfly an instant before she did.

"Watch out! An akuma!"

Marinette took a step toward the attendant, but it was too late. She knew all too well what was happening. The butterfly had already touched the control stick beside the attendant. A purple mask hovered over his forehead and people began fleeing in terror.

"Yes, Hawkmoth," murmured the attendant. Before Marinette or her friends could move, the entire rollercoaster jerked and lifted off of the ground, floating into the air. Chloé and Sabrina scrambled into a seat, but Marinette knew she had to get off! She had to find an escape; become Ladybug!

"Uff!" she dived off the crumbling boarding-platform and landed in a heap on the dusty ground.

"Go get help!" called a familiar voice to her side. She glanced across the scattered debris and saw Adrien. He must have leaped away from the ride as well. One less person for her to worry about.

Above them, a shadow was growing as the ride continued to rise into the sky—tracks, carts, and all. The seat-belts had all clicked into place, trapping the riders in their seats. Marinette could see Chloé, Sabrina, Nino, and Alya, along with seven or eight other carnival-goers.

"What are you waiting for!" Tikki said, floating up from Marinette's purse. "They need Ladybug."

"Hurry! Get help!" Adrien called again, as he started running through the hordes of screaming people. Marinette nodded quickly and dashed away in the opposite direction. She definitely couldn't let him see her transform.

She ducked around a red-striped food tent and prepared to turn into Ladybug, when suddenly Juleka, Rose, Ivan, and Myléne ran toward her. Tikki ducked back into Marinette's purse.

"Marinette! Marinette! What's happening? Did you see it?" Her friends crowded around her and she winced, needing to get away.

"Did Chloé make someone mad again?"

"Was it scary?"

"Are you all right?"

"Where are the others?"

Marinette held up a hand to slow their questions. "I'll tell you the whole story later, but we need to find help! There're still people on the ride."

Rose lifted her hands to her mouth, horrified.

"We need Ladybug!" said Myléne, glancing at the floating rollercoaster.

 _Yeah, we do_ , thought Marinette grumpily. "Why don't you find the rest of the class and make sure they're okay?" she tried to advise the group. "I'll, um, try to keep people away from that part of the carnival?"

Considering the masses of people already fleeing, Marinette decided her task was a rather weak excuse. Nevertheless, her classmates seemed to think it was a good idea. They nodded and hurried off.

Marinette peeked back around the edge of the tent. Chat Noir was already battling the attendant, who was now proclaiming himself the Controller.

"Will Ladybug dare to face me?!" the man shouted, his voice somehow amplified across the carnival grounds. "It's your Miraculouses, or their lives." He gestured to the people on the tilting ride, then swatted away Chat Noir, who had suddenly charged him. Marinette remembered Chat Noir's invitation to the carnival, and how he said he was going during the day with his friends. It seemed weird to think of Chat Noir with friends—besides her. Did he really act like a normal teenager? She wondered what he had been up to before the akuma attack.

"Marinette!" Tikki shouted again. "You can daydream later!"

"Right." Marinette shook her head slightly, trying to clear her scattered thoughts. Her friends needed Ladybug. Chat Noir included.


	3. Chapter 3

The moment the ride had started shaking beneath their feet, Adrien had dived off the platform into the dust below. Couldn't Chloé ever go a day without akumatizing someone? He saw Marinette land beside him and was glad she had escaped. But Nino and Alya were still on the ride! Along with Sabrina, Chloé, and a bunch of others.

"Go get help!" he called to Marinette as he jumped to his feet and shielded the back of his head from the raining debris. Marinette was still standing in place, staring at the ride as it began to float into the sky. The attendant was now wearing a top hat and a cape. He looked quite dramatic.

"Ahhh!"

"Help!"

People were screaming and fleeing in all directions. Adrien glanced back at Marinette, calling, "Hurry! Get help!" He started sprinting toward the nearest carnival tent, hoping she would get herself to safety.

"You know, I don't like carnivals so much," said Plagg, floating out of Adrien's pocket, looking dizzy. "How about no more rides for today?"

"Sorry, Plagg," mumbled Adrien. "I have a feeling you're not going to like this next one."

"No. Probably not," sighed the little black cat.

"Plagg, claws out!" shouted Adrien, once he double-checked that the tent was empty. A moment later, he raced back toward the ride as Chat Noir. At least Ladybug was somewhere at the carnival. She would show up any second. Chat Noir wondered what rides she had been going on. How many friends did she have? He wondered if he had ever met any of them.

"I am the Controller!" shouted the ride attendant. "Unless Chat Noir and Ladybug give up their Miraculouses, I will give these poor souls the ride of their lives."

Chat Noir stopped below the floating ride and leaped as high as he could. He managed to grab the bottom of the rollercoaster track and haul himself up to the Controller's level.

"Chat Noir," the Controller spotted him and pulled the ride's control stick, forcing the coaster to start up the track. "Will Ladybug dare to face me?! It's your Miraculouses, or their lives."

"Let them go!" Chat Noir dived at the attendant, only to be swatted away by a floating board, which had sprung from the track. With a pang of dismay, he realized the board didn't return to the track. It clattered to the ground below.

But the rollercoaster was already going! What if the track broke because that one board was missing?

"Hey! We're only trying to help you!" shouted Ladybug. Chat Noir's hopes leapt. With Ladybug at his side, they would win. Together, they always won.

The Controller grinned with glee, his cape fluttering in the wind as they continued to float above the city. "You want to help? You can help by handing over your Miraculouses!"

"That would only help Hawkmoth. Trust me, you don't want that," said Chat Noir. "Hawkmoth is worse than having a hairball."

Ladybug rolled her eyes and he grinned. "What's the plan, mi' lady?"

His fellow superhero pushed him out of the way as another floating board flew at them. They both toppled onto the rollercoaster track and did their best to hang onto the swaying metal beams.

"How about we try not to fall to our death while we somehow stop the rollercoaster and free the akuma?"

"Great plan, as usual, mi' lady." Chat Noir helped her to her feet and they both stared up at the Controller. He was moving the ride's manual controls to increase the speed.

"Uh-oh," muttered Chat Noir. He could see the rollercoaster reaching the top of the incline. Any second it would drop and whiz around the track—which was steadily falling apart.

"We need to get the people off!" Ladybug was also watching the coaster, looking slightly panicked. Chat Noir felt bad for his classmates, especially Nino and Alya. They were at the front of the ride, which offered them a clear view of the crumbling track. But at least they weren't screaming their heads off—like Chloé and Sabrina, who were behind them. The two girls hadn't even wanted to go on the ride back when it was safely on the ground. Though it did sort of serve Chloé right, thought Chat Noir. Sort of.

"I'll distract the Controller," he volunteered as the coaster raced down the track and whirled around a floating corner. "I think the akuma is in the ride's controls!"

"Hurry!" Ladybug responded, aiming her yo-yo toward the coaster.

Chat Noir jumped from one section of the track to the next, being careful not to fall between the gaps and plummet to his death. The Controller was watching him, amused.

"You think you can beat me? This is my ride, and I'm in charge! No one has the right to complain about it—it's my friend!"

"Sad, quite sad," said Chat Noir as he jumped closer to the Controller and whipped out his baton. "But I'm afraid these people won't be around to enjoy your ride anymore if you don't let them go. You don't want that, do you?"

"Give me your Miraculouses," was the man's only reply.

Chat Noir sighed and suddenly leapt across the last section of track, somersaulting into the Controller's torso. They both toppled onto a track below them.

"Ouch!" Chat Noir attempted to dodge a punch, only to be hit by another stray board. He risked a glance up at Ladybug. Was she having any luck evacuating the riders?

"The seatbelts are all too tight!" she shouted back, as if reading his thoughts. "I think they must have fastened automatically when the attendant got akumatized!"

Chat Noir did another somersault, avoiding the Controller's attack. The track itself was still in place, but so many of the support boards had been pulled loose… Chat Noir figured the entire structure would collapse if the coaster raced across that section. And if Ladybug couldn't pull the riders off, then the only hope was to de-evilize the akuma and free the Controller.

"Lucky Charm!" screamed Ladybug, obviously realizing they had to finish the fight—fast. Chat Noir turned away from the Controller, noticing the bag of pop-corn which had suddenly appeared in her hands.

"Snack time?" he shrugged, ducking another flying two-by-four.

"I don't think so." Ladybug leaped across the track and motioned for Chat Noir to toss her his baton.

Ninety percent of the time, Chat Noir had no idea what Ladybug's plans were—especially concerning the Lucky Charm. Nevertheless, he had faith in her quick-thinking; he trusted her more than anyone.

He threw her his weapon and leaped across the floating structure onto another track. It vibrated beneath his feet as the coaster raced closer. They had a matter of seconds before the riders were above the weak portion of the track.

"Batter up!" called Ladybug and she tossed the bag of pop-corn into the air and used the baton as a baseball bat. The bag exploded and rained pop-corn onto the Controller's head. He stopped attacking Chat Noir and glanced up, rubbing at the stray grains of salt near his eyes.

"You can't defeat me with that!" he insisted, his voice indignant. Before Ladybug could move, multiple support boards tore themselves away from the track and slammed into her.

"No!" Chat Noir leaped toward the Controller as Ladybug used her yo-yo to keep from falling off the hovering ride. The track was shaking even worse. The coaster was nearly on top of them. Chloé and Sabrina were screaming so loud Chat Noir could hardly hear himself think. In the corner of his vision he could see Ladybug making her way toward the ride's controls. Unfortunately, the Controller was watching her too. In the pop-corn shower, he had all but forgotten Chat Noir.

 _Time to change that._

As the Controller prepared to launch another plywood attack on Ladybug, Chat Noir threw himself at the attendant, knocking him off balance. Both of them tipped off the edge of the track.

"No!" he heard Ladybug's shout, but the ride had hit the frail portion of the track. There was a crunching of metal above Chat Noir's head. He didn't entirely know what was happening, because he was a bit preoccupied by his own free fall toward the ground, but he supposed it was looking pretty bad all around.

"AHHH!" Chat Noir somersaulted through open air, not knowing if he was screaming, if the Controller was screaming, if the passengers on the ride were screaming…

The ground was too close.

He hoped Ladybug would reset everything quickly.


	4. Chapter 4

Ladybug didn't know if she'd ever been so panicked. She had been an arm's length away from the ride's controls until the Controller had nearly knocked her off the tracks. Then, before she knew what had happened, Chat Noir had charged the Controller and they both fell from the ride.

"No!" she readied her yo-yo, but at the same instant, the coaster also pitched through the weak track and crashed into the track below, totally derailed.

In a terrible split-second decision, Ladybug turned away from the fate of Chat Noir, and her friends on the ride. She kicked the ride's controls and captured the akuma, her heart racing erratically as the derailed coaster slid off the hovering structure and began plummeting toward the ground—just like Chat Noir and the Controller.

"Bye-akuma-Miraculous-Ladybug!" she huffed in a single breath, tossing a stray piece of pop-corn into the air above her head.

Suddenly she was no longer on a floating rollercoaster track. Ladybug was back on the ground, the ride completely intact. All the passengers were seated on the ride, but the seatbelts were undone and they were free to get off. The ride attendant and Chat Noir were both seated side-by-side on the ground, glancing around curiously.

Ladybug didn't know if they had hit the ground or not. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. She collapsed to the ground in relief and tried not to cry.

They had been victorious, as usual, but the sinking feeling of utter loss and destruction was still weighing on her shoulders. What if the instant-reset hadn't worked? What if Chat Noir and the Controller had both died? What if she had been a few seconds slower and everyone on the ride had also died?

"Good job, mi' lady," said Chat Noir, offered her a hand. "Pound it!"

Ladybug reluctantly joined in the fist-bump. Then she grabbed Chat Noir's shoulders and hugged him tightly. She didn't pull away until he started purring.

"What was that for? Not that I'm complaining…" he winked and a small sliver of Ladybug's confidence started to return.

"Just promise me you won't go skydiving any time soon, okay? I…I was really scared."

Chat Noir's teasing look softened. "Don't worry, mi' lady. For your sake I'll try to stay out of danger. For a while." His brow creased in a furrow. "Out of curiosity, did you call 'Miraculous Ladybug' before I went splat? I can't remember."

Ladybug swallowed heavily. "I'm not sure either."

Chat Noir stared off into space for a moment, and then grinned. "Well, in any case, I guess it's good to be alive!"

"I second that," muttered an embarrassed ride attendant. He pushed himself off the ground, shaking slightly. "I don't remember anything that happened, but I have this…terrified feeling." He hung his head, his cheeks reddening. "I'm so sorry. This was all my fault."

"No, it was Hawkmoth's," said Ladybug. "And sort of Chloé's. But not yours." As she spoke, she shot a glance toward the passengers on the ride. Most had already gotten off, though Alya and Nino were still in the front, holding onto each other, eyes wide and anxious. Chloé and Sabrina remained seated as well, evidently unsteady.

One day Hawkmoth would pay, Ladybug vowed. Her friends didn't deserve to be put in danger so much—she didn't deserve the stress. And Chat Noir didn't deserve to keep sacrificing himself.

Ladybug's earrings beeped and she ran off, just as her crime-fighting partner brought up the carnival date.

"After all we've been through, we should enjoy ourselves. Celebrate!"

"Gotta go!" She ducked around a tent, hoping his feelings weren't hurt. He really was quite the friend—probably her best friend if she was honest with herself.

Ladybug transformed back into Marinette, still pondering Chat Noir.

"Do you think I should show up tonight, Tikki?"

At Marinette's question, Tikki perked up excitedly. "He loves you, Marinette. And after all he did today, perhaps it would be nice if you went. You might even have fun!"

"I know it would be fun…I just don't want to give him false hopes, you know? It's not like I care about him the way I do with Adrien."

Tikki didn't say anything, though it looked like she wanted to. Instead, the kwami flew into Marinette's bag and quickly hid.

"Marinette! Are you all right?"

It was Adrien. He was running out from behind another tent nearby. She desperately hoped he hadn't seen her talking with Tikki. Or heard her comments about liking him…

"Yeah, haha, I'm fine," Marinette chirped. "Are you? I mean, you look fine—more then fine—but I um, hahaha!"

"I'm good. But we better go check on Nino and Alya."

"Right!" Marinette brushed thoughts of Chat Noir aside as she followed Adrien back to the ride. Everyone was off the coaster, and news reporters were swarming the area, wanting the inside scoop on the Controller's defeat. The ride attendant had his hands in his pockets nervously, but his boss was already on site, reassuring him that any publicity was good publicity. Everything would be fine.

"Did you see what happened?!" Alya and Nino raced over to Adrien and Marinette. "We were literally falling to our deaths when Ladybug reset everything! That was so close."

"Too close," Nino echoed, sounding shaken.

Marinette was struck by another pang of guilt. Lots of people had nearly died. Chat Noir _had_ died—as far as she knew. A trickling feeling of protectiveness surged through her and Ladybug suddenly wanted to hang out with Chat Noir later. He was her friend. If he was going to keep pulling crazy stunts, he had to know she cared.

"I am never going to this INSANE carnival ever again! I could have DIED!" Chloé's voice reached the group and Marinette's urge to sigh was brushed aside in thankfulness. Chloé was alive. That was what mattered.

"Is everyone okay? That looked so scary!" Rose also arrived on scene, the rest of their classmates close behind. The whole group started chattering rapidly, rehashing the entire event, blow-by-blow. Marinette continued to feel ill, and was glad when the class finally dispersed, saying they'd had enough fun at the carnival for one day.

"See you all, Monday!" Myléne called as she and Ivan headed toward the exit. Rose, Juleka, Alix, Kim, Max, and Nathaniel followed, joking about the carnival games and the few rides they had gone on before all the chaos.

"Well, my father will definitely not be sponsoring this carnival anymore!" Chloé threatened, as she and Sabrina started to head after the others.

"It was your fault the ride attendant got akumatized!" sniffed Alya. "Make sure your father hears that part of the story."

Chloé paused for a moment, then sniffed again and walked away. Marinette thought she looked a little regretful. Maybe. With Chloé it was always hard to tell.

"Well, do we want to have a movie party or something since it's still pretty early?" suggested Alya when Chloé and Sabrina were out of earshot.

As fun as that sounded, Marinette knew she had to stick around the carnival to look for Chat Noir. She quickly mumbled something about needing to run errands for her parents.

"Me too. Err, I mean, I have to do some work—for my Chinese tutoring," said Adrien, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Marinette was secretly relieved he couldn't hang out either—she wasn't missing out on time with Adrien.

"Too bad, dudes, but we'll see you guys Monday then!" said Nino, putting an arm around Alya. They all headed to the exit together, Alya talking about how she hoped her siblings would leave her and Nino alone if they watched another movie at her house.

"See you later," Marinette waved as she broke off from the group, heading for a different metro stop. Adrien also separated and ducked into the men's room. Marinette blew out a breath, waited for a few moments, and then transformed into Ladybug. Hopefully Chat Noir still wasn't hanging out with his friends. She didn't want to interrupt them—though she would have no way of knowing who they were.

"I made the right choice," she whispered to Tikki though she knew the kwami couldn't respond. Ladybug was actually excited. Maybe they could sit on top of the Ferris Wheel or play a few carnival games. Though it would draw publicity if they were both in their disguises…

"Ladybug?"

She heard Chat Noir's voice the moment she reached the carnival's entrance. Had he been waiting for her?

"You actually came!" he sounded so thrilled she felt her cheeks warming.

"Of course. You're my friend. And after a day like today…"

"This'll be great!" Chat Noir grabbed her hand and they leaped over the entrance gates. Sure enough, some people stopped to stare at them, but for the most part, the carnival was relatively empty. Apparently, everyone had been scared off for the day by the akumatized-villain attack.

"So, Ladybug," started Chat Noir as they walked past the wild rollercoasters. "You want to tell me who you were hanging out with today so I can determine whether or not I may have seen you?" He winked mischievously and Ladybug's mouth curved. She could only imagine his jealous reaction to hearing she'd spent most of the afternoon with Adrien Agreste.

"In your dreams, kitty," she ran ahead of him, past the food booths. "Oh! Chat Noir, do you want a hot dog? I'm starved!"

"Sure! My friends and I were going to get hot dogs, but we never got around to it."

"Same here," said Ladybug.

They both walked up to the vendor and he nearly fell off his chair at the sight of them. "Paris' heroes want my cooking?" He grinned and fixed them hot dogs for free.

Twenty minutes later, Ladybug and Chat Noir were finishing their dinner atop the Ferris Wheel. They had talked about everything and nothing. As much as Ladybug didn't want to admit it, she was having just as much fun with Chat Noir as she'd had with her friends earlier.

"Yeah, and I actually saw a book in a tourist shop, called 'Chat Noir: the Punny Hero!' How does the general public know about my puns?" Chat Noir was laughing, but not as much as Ladybug. Her side was aching again, and her face was sore from grinning nonstop.

"Hhmm, no clue. It's not like you go around saying how 'purrfect' the day always is," teased Ladybug sarcastically, knowing the particular expression was one of his favorites.

"What else can I say if the day is purrfect—just like today."

"I wouldn't say that," Ladybug's smile lessened. "It was pretty rough this afternoon."

"But this evening makes up for it?" Chat Noir watched her closely, waiting to see if she agreed.

With a reluctant smile, Ladybug nodded. "Yeah. This evening has been pretty 'purrfect.'"

Chat Noir grinned wider and settled back in his seat on the Ferris Wheel. Behind them, the sunset stained the sky with shades of red and pink. Ladybug leaned back in her seat as well, surprised at how comfortable she felt with Chat Noir—especially considering the romantic setting.

"Maybe we should do this more often," Ladybug suggested after a long moment of contented quiet. "I mean, just as friends, but you know…this has been…really nice," she finished hastily, feeling her cheeks blushing beneath her mask. It was suddenly like she was trying to talk to Adrien…

Chat Noir set his arm around the back of her chair, seeming thrilled by her sudden lack of speaking-skills. "As you wish mi' lady. How about tomorrow night?"

Ladybug laughed, then actually considered his offer, oddly excited. "I don't think I have anything going on. Why not?"

"Then it's a date. Between friends," Chat Noir clarified, glancing at Ladybug. He smiled at her in a way that seemed to say friends didn't go on romantic sunset Ferris Wheel rides, but Ladybug toned out the voice of reason in the back of her head. So what, if she sort of possibly maybe perhaps liked Chat Noir? She didn't even know who he was. Nothing would ever come of it, but that didn't mean she couldn't hang out with him. He was a ton of fun—not to mention her partner in some of her life's craziest adventures. And she would much rather spend another day with him than finish her math homework.

"Thank you again for coming tonight," said Chat Noir, snapping Ladybug out of her musings. "And I'll see you on the rooftops of Paris tomorrow evening."

"Looking forward to it," replied Ladybug, before she could overanalyze her feelings again. "Have a purrfect day!"

"Now you're just mocking me." Chat Noir's green eyes were practically sparkling with glee. "But I will." He stood as the Ferris Wheel reached the ground. "Catch you later, bug-a-boo," he blew her a kiss as he leaped away and disappeared over the carnival gates. Ladybug grinned self-consciously as the Ferris Wheel attendant raised his eyebrows. The tabloids were going to love catching her and Chat Noir on a date.

Yet she didn't mind too much. Out of all the many worries in her life, it felt good to know she had Chat Noir. He had proven—many times, that he would do anything to help her, and as annoying as he could be, she doubted he would ever purposefully jeopardize their friendship. It was something they both counted on.

Ladybug left the carnival and made it back to her bedroom via the Paris rooftops. As she transformed back into Marinette and put on her pajamas, Tikki whirled around her head.

"See, Marinette. Aren't you glad you stayed with Chat Noir?"

Marinette narrowed her eyes at the kwami. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to set me up with our feline friend."

Tikki swirled around and shrugged. "I just think your obsession over Adrien isn't entirely healthy."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "And spending time with Chat Noir is better? Please, he's a way worse influence than Adrien, I'm sure."

Tikki appeared to be biting her tongue. Marinette's head was in the clouds though. Between thoughts of Adrien and Chat Noir, she would have plenty to dream about that night. And she even had a date the following day!

As the moonlight streamed through her windows, Marinette smiled and fell into a steady sleep. Sure enough, she did dream about green eyes—but for the first time in a long while, she was pretty sure they didn't belong to Adrien. And strangely enough, she didn't even seem to mind.

By the time the moon had been replaced by the sun, Marinette couldn't remember her dream at all—but she had a feeling the day was going to be purrfect.


End file.
